Oklahoma's Social Host law puts a shared responsibility for underage drinking on the person providing the locations for the gathering. Adults or minors can be cited and fined under the Social Host law.

It's the Law

Oklahoma's Social Host law means it's up to you to make sure kids don't drink in your home or on your property. The law is clear: If kids under age 21 are drinking alcohol at a gathering, and you're providing the location for that gathering, you're responsible -- whether you're an adult or a minor, and whether you rent, own, or simply provide the location. Fines for the first offense are up to $500.

A few years ago, the members of SYC, mainly the 2M2L team, decided to launch a Pink Elephant Campaign to raise awareness of a big problem in our community -- underage drinking. The pink elephant was "the elephant in the room," the problem nobody wants to talk about, the problem that involves not only underage youth who decide to drink but also adults who provide alcohol. The pink elephant caught people's attention; however, underage drinking and parental passivity still remains a problem.

​This school year, SYC has honed the focus of their underage drinking campaign, emphasizing and raising awareness of Oklahoma's Social Host law. This law holds responsible those adults and minors who provide places where underage drinking occurs, attempting to stop underage drinking from a slightly different angle. The question now isn't, "Who provides the alcohol?" but rather, "Who provides the place?" When you provide a location for underage drinking, then you are a social host. Social hosting for minors is illegal. We are using the eye-catching red solo cup as the main image of our media campaign. We will be placing a large paper mache solo cup along with our pink elephant at businesses around Shawnee, piquing people's curiosity as they drive by. We will also be handing out t-shirts, pens, and cling stickers to raise awareness and to educate our community about the social host law. We are also working on a movie trailer, reality party for adults, and public service announcements.